Toyminator's 2000-2001 WAC Conference Preview

The WAC is attempting to redefine its conference in the aftermath of last season's unpleasant divorce with the Mountain West. Unfortunately, they got stuck with the shack on the east side of town, while the MWC got the beach house in Hawaii! Utah, UNLV & BYU will be basking in the sun of the Top 25, while the WAC's top teams (Tulsa, SMU & Fresno St) will be lucky to see it at all this season. To make matters worse, the WAC is trying to refurbish the shack with garage sale programs like Nevada, Boise St. & Louisiana Tech. In my opinion, this will bring the conference's power rating even lower and result in fewer teams reaching postseason play. In fact, I predict that the WAC will only send one team (its automatic bid) to the NCAA Tournament this season.

OK, that's enough metaphors for one paragraph! On to the teams! Last season was quite a memorable one for the Tulsa Hurricane, as they fought their way to the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, their two leaders from that team are gone...Eric Coley and coach Bill Self. Talent still remains, but they will not duplicate last season's success. Fresno St. had a good season too, finally making it to the NCAA Tournament thanks to the high scoring Courtney Alexander. But, he's in the NBA now, so others are going to have to step up for Tark. The team with the most talent in the league is SMU. This doesn't mean they'll win the conference, but it sure helps when you have players such as the versatile Jeryl Sasser and hard-nosed Willie Davis. If they can develop an inside game, they could see time in the Top 25 this season. As for the rest of the teams, only TCU has a shot at any postseason play. Even though that may sound bad, I believe the future is even more so!

ON THE RISE: SMU
The Mustangs were good last season, but got lost in the Tulsa/Fresno St. hype. That shouldn't happen this season, especially with flashy Jeryl Sasser running the team. If big man Nigel Smith can recover from his injuries and provide some muscle down low, then this team should win the conference and provide a scare for someone in the 1st round of the Big Dance.

IN DECLINE: The Conference
As I mentioned before, bringing in Nevada this season and Boise St & Louisiana Tech next season, will not help this conference, but only make it weaker in the eyes of the Tournament committees. In fact, they'll have to start looking over their shoulders for mid-major conferences like the Mid-American & Missouri Valley, who consistently provide 1st round upsets in the NCAA Tournament. The once mighty WAC is history!

1. SMU

Strengths: Excellent backcourt, led by Sasser. Good ball-handling. Good rebounding team. Balanced scoring. Force many turnovers.
Weakness: Poor shooting team from everywhere. Little inside scoring.
Outlook: The league's most talented team just needs to shoot a little better and the conference title is theirs!

2. TULSA

Strengths: Excellent backcourt. Potent perimeter offense. Excellent team defense. Good ball handling & distribution.
Weakness: Poor frontcourt, with little inside scoring or rebounding. No Bill Self on the sidelines.
Outlook: With the brains behind this program at Illinois, this team will take some time to adjust to the young Buzz Peterson. Talent is still here, but without an inside game to compliment their solid backcourt, they're a bubble team at best.

3. FRESNO ST.

Strengths: Good shooting team. Good ball handling & distribution. Very quick team.
Weakness: Poor rebounding team. Suspect team defense. Little experience or depth.
Outlook: Tark's got the most talented trio in the league (Porter, Jefferies, Ely), but nobody else! Only if some unknown talent is hiding beneath their bench will this team reach the NCAA Tournament again! NIT is more likely.

4. TCU

Strengths: High powered offense, that shoots the ball well from everywhere. Quick, deep backcourt. Lots of experience.
Weakness: Horrible team defense. Poor rebounding team. No true PF on team.
Outlook: If the top 3 teams stumble at all, and if one of the new point guards stabilizes this team, they could be a part of the title picture and reach the postseason.

5. HAWAII

Strengths: Excellent shooting team. Very experienced.
Weakness: Questionable PG. Poor team defense. Lack of team quickness.
Outlook: The Rainbows scared some teams in the WAC Tournament last season to end on a high note. If someone emerges at PG and gets the ball to Troy Ostler enough, they may see some postseason action.

6. UTEP

Strengths: Solid frontcourt. Good shooting team. Limit their turnovers.
Weakness: Small, inexperienced backcourt. Poor team defense.
Outlook: Wolfram & Smallwood are studs down low, but they need some production from their backcourt! JUCO waterbug Eugene Costello may be the answer, and if so, they could move up the standings.

7. RICE

Strengths: Good team defense. Good rebounding team.
Weakness: Pitiful offense. Poor shooting team. Poor ball handling & distribution.
Outlook: Look for senior Mike Wilks to score a lot of points, but it won't be enough to win many games.

8. SAN JOSE ST.

Strengths: Excellent team defense. Good rebounding team. Good experience.
Weakness: Poor team offense. Short frontcourt. Poor ball handling & distribution. Horrible FT shooting team.
Outlook: Defense will keep them in many games, but that doesn't mean they'll win many of them. At least the arrival of Nevada will keep them out of the basement.

9. NEVADA

Strengths: Decent backcourt. Good FT shooting team.
Weakness: Poor shooting team. Poor team defense. Poor ball distribution. Weak frontcourt that won't get too many rebounds.
Outlook: OK, I don't know jack about this team. But they struggled in the Big West last season, so it doesn't look good for them!

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Last updated on 10/1/00 by toyminator@prodigy.net